Their Secret Rendezvous
by spirit-mage-234
Summary: Re-release. Kaoru was called forth to be the Emperor's concubine at the meer age of 13. But it seemed that his Crown Prince had other intentions with the young concubine... A short one-shot.


**Their Secret Rendezvous**

**_It would be kickass to be an Empress Regent - I could control and own everything! Unfortunately, I'm not one, so I don't own Rurouni Kenshin._**

**Warnings: Sensuality evident**

At the hour of the Rat, Kaoru made her way down the corridor, which was rather dark at this hour, since one lantern was lit every few meters. She glided quietly along the floor, careful not to make any unnecessary noises: the heat of the day had long since dwindled by this hour, so it was easier for the wood to creak. Luckily, she had made it to her destination at the main house, in the Crown Prince's corridor. There was no luminence through the shoji, so Kaoru was not sure if the Crown Prince was even awake. She slowly slid the shoji open, only wide enough to allow her slim form through. Once she closed the shoji back into place, Kaoru scanned the room. Still, dark, and quiet. Though dark, she manage to make out the familiar shapes in the room: the Crown Prince's stand of displayed swords, a large urn that was imported from the mainland, and the screen that separated his sleeping area from the rest of the room. Kaoru identified the latter and made her way toward it. Before she made her way behind the screen, a lantern lit behind it, and the sillohuete of a figure sat up on the futon.

Through her eyes, the figure was small but well toned (as he was not wearing a sleeping yukata), and a long messy mane ran down his back. From his point of view, he saw a short but slim figure wearing a yukata. When he recognized the shape of the woman, he released a smirk and reclined his body so he could prop his head on his elbow.

"I've been waiting for you, Kaoru," he said in a low and seductive voice, which dropped in octaves when he had his secret meetings with Kaoru. No matter how many times they met in the middle of the night like this, she always shuddering at his low voice. Still, Kaoru came from behind the screen and showed herself to the Crown Prince. It had been apparent that he had been waiting: he had brought out his larger futon instead of his smaller, single futon. His fiery red mane was loose from its tie, and he remained unclothed from his yukata. He was wide awake, meaning that he was well awake when Kaoru crept in. How long he was waiting, she did not know, but he was not mad for her tardiness; he was just glad she was here.

All he did was watch Kaoru's plump and glossy lips as she removed her yukata and let it drop to the floor. He glided his now pure amber eyes over her body, that almost shined in the lantern's light, once before holding up his hand to her. She graciously took it, laying her smooth hand in his rough palm, and he tugged her gently to the futon, allow her to stradle his hips as she lay on top of him.

They had been meeting ever since she came to the Imperial Palace as Crown Prince Kenshin's father's, Emperor Hiko Seijuro XIII, concubine. After the death of his beloved wife, the Emperor was estatic to have found out that there was another woman who was nearly identical to his deceased consort. He immediately ordered his matchmakers to bring the woman to him, not caring which social class she came from. It was luck to discover that she was from noble blood; her father a duke. But, alas, the Emperor was dumbfounded to find that this "woman" was no older than thirteen, a child in his eyes. Though disappointed that this girl named Kaoru was not as mature as expected, the Emperor refused to let her go, so he made her his concubine anyway, and kept her in his harem until she reached a suitable age to be bedded.

Little did he know that his only survivng son, Crown Prince Kenshin, would set his eyes on the little beauty. Though he already had a wife of his own, Tomoe, he could not help but feel an immediate attraction to the youth who was nearly ten years his junior. Unlike his father, Kenshin was not one to restrain himself from beautiful woman just because of age. He knew that Kaoru was just as enthralled to be in his presence as he was in her's. He could tell from the glint in her sea-blue eyes. It almost made him laugh: a girl of thirteen desiring a man of twenty-four. Was it she or his father who was naiive?

It was not difficult to seduce the girl; after a few coaxes and intimate word play and touches she came right to him. Actually, Kenshin felt guilty when he broke Kaoru's barrier. She was so young, her body not even fully developed, not to forget that she was inexperienced in the game of love and lust. Perhaps the source of most of the guilt came from the fact that Kaoru so willingly gave herself to him. Did she even know what she wanted, or what her true purpose in the palace was? She was probably only told that she was going to be a wife of man nearly forty years her senior, not aware that her only main purpose as a concubine of that young was to produce more heirs for the current emperor. Kenshin promised himself that he would never do what he had done to Kaoru again and that he would make her stay in the palace as comfortable as possible, but on their first night of passion, the way her moans turned from painful to pleasurable, how she played with his bangs and marred face afterwards, how she so easily sunk into his embraced and drifted off to sleep...

It dawned upon him that this girl was more than what met the eye, and that she truly knew what she was doing, what she wanted. And so, Kenshin and Kaoru's secret rendezvous became more frequent. She was fortunate that the Emperor did not favor her among his other concubines, at the moment anyway. The two made sure that their affair was kept the utmost secret. Although it was far from taboo for an emperor to have more than one wife, his son could not officially have more than one wife until he obtained the role of emperor. What made their affair even more illicit was the fact that Kaoru was not even Kenshin's offical consort, she was not even his to begin with, but one of his father's unoffical wives. Years of age difference and blood difference did not make their relationship anymore acceptable, but incestrous. Revelation of their affair could call for the exile of the Crown Prince and the execution of the concubine.

Thus, when Kaoru was of acceptable age for the Emperor to bed her (sixteen in his eyes, for she looked more like his mature and deceased wife), they had to plan the precise timing for the union. So on the third night of her second cycle, Kaoru seduced the Emperor to lie with her. With Kaoru's blood spilling on the sheets during her union with Hiko, the plan worked accordingly to which Hiko believed that she had remained pure before their first union. As an added bonus (on Kaoru's part, that is), she was not impregnated. Kenshin was still none too happy about someone whom he believed to be 'his' sleeping with another man, be it his father or not. But alas, though Kaoru had matured into an even more beautiful picture, she was not particulary favored by Hiko, and had failed to produce an heir through the few encounters that the two had. So Kenshin was pleased that the two of them could continue their late night meetings, be it walking through the imperial gardens or making love.

Since his emotions had grown so strongly for Kaoru and vice versa, the only twinge of guilt he had about his affair was for his wife. It was not that he did not have feelings for his official wife, but the two were never very close to begin with. As a royal figurehead, it was custom to have an arranged marriage with the daughter of a high offical; in Tomoe's case, the daughter of a high daimyo. In the eyes of the court, she was the ideal figure for a future empress: quiet, soft spoken, and elegant, just as any wife of any man should be. That was all well and good for the Crown Prince, but the excitement and exhileration that he felt when he was with Kaoru was like none that he ever experienced with his own wife. He was more than sure that what he felt for Kaoru and what he felt for Tomoe was very different, and to be serious, so much more than what Kenshin ever expected. He did not want to admit it, but if he had any power as the Crown Prince of Japan, it would to steal Kaoru from his father's harem and make her his official wife. But he knew that she would be out of his reach, for if Kaoru did not produce a liable heir by the time of Hiko's death, she would be released from the harem and spend the remainder of her days as a Shinto preistess.

But he did not see this as the end. After all, anything could happen...

As Kenshin began to caress Kaoru's back as she moved her hips in a rhythmic motion atop him, her breaths came as short pants while he steadied her pace. Her soft moans and his short grunts were the only noises in his vacuous quarter.

"When was the last time that you and the Emperor bedded?" he asked as she slowed to a stop and trailed her hands from his waist to his prespiring chest.

"Almost three moons ago... But I just ended my last cycle," Kaoru answered quietly as she caught her breath. His hand that was resting on her back brought her body down closer to his, so that her belly and breast rested on his accordingly. She then looked shamefully away from him as she spoke her next words.

"The Emperor preoccupies his time with his other concubines. I am yet to produce an heir for him, and he is getting older. He does not need me. No one needs a woman like me." Kaoru's breath hitched as if she were about to release a sob. "I am useless."

That made Kenshin disappointed in himself. He felt that throughout his love and attention toward Kaoru (at the expense of his own wife), he had failed to please Kaoru and make her accepted in the imperial life. He knew it would be difficult for Kaoru, with her being the youngest yet most attractive amongst the other concubines. What more could he do for her?

Kenshin held her head and pulled her down for a deep, long kiss. A kiss with such intensity as this one called for practically crushing Kaoru's slender body against his hard form in order for him to reach the contours of her mouth, tasting her. When it was hard for either of them to breathe, he release the kiss but left soft and wet kisses on her cheek and neck.

"Do not worry about them, love. Only think about what I need you for," he said to her, raising his voice by a mere octave to make it more gentle. He grabbed her hand and held it as he kissed it tenderly. "You are most important to me."

The only thing Kaoru could do in response was to rest her head on his shoulder while she kissed his neck and caressed it with her hand, soon allowing it to trail to his chest. She whispered words of love and utter devotion to Kenshin, though she hoped that he would not hear. Once they had rested, it was Kenshin's turn to show his devotion to her, as he turned them over so that Kenshin was on top. As she straddled his hips again, she guided her hand up and over his back as he did the same to her. And as their noses touched to share another kiss, the lantern's light went out.

* * *

Notes:

So just as in my first release of this story, this was just some random idea for another RK fanfic. It was inspired by the life of Empress Wu Zetian - who created the Zhao Dynasty of China and was China's first and only empress regent - and Lady Murasaki Shikibu's novel, "The Tale of Genji".

And according to Far East time keeping, the Hour of the Rat is 11 to 12 pm. I have the complete time scale in my notes for "River of Stars". Forgot which chapter they're under...

One last thing with the geneology factor. Even though this is a one-shot, many of you might wonder about Kenshin's mother and Hiko's late consort (though I kinda hope that you did not actually think that far ahead). Are you saying, "so are you saying that Kenshin's mother had black hair like Kaoru's? Liar." Well, in case you were never informed about the heirachy in the Imperial Court, Kenshin may very well be the son of a concubine. If a concubine gave birth to the emperor's first born son, the child would be adopted by the emperess and raised as her son accordingly.

Until the next one-shot's release (or RE-release)...


End file.
